Mario Kart Go! for Satnav devices is expected to cause ‘minimal casualties’ when used on the open road, according to manufacturers after the launch today.

The exciting augmented reality game will allow drivers to liven up long journeys by swerving wildly across the road to pick up powerups which may then be ‘fired’ at other road users.

Other special abilities include double points for aggressive acceleration when drivers collect a Bullet Bill, and drivers are warned that nudging other road users off remains illegal whilst also activating a bonus multiplier.

Programmers admit that picking up a Gold Star on your Satnav will not make you impervious to death ‘in real life’, but insist the game is purely for fun and should not be allowed to affect your driving.

“Mario Kart Go! is just a bit of fun and it’s important that players remain aware of their surroundings at all times,” said programmer Simon Williams.

“Whilst in-game powerups are activated by throwing banana skins out of the passenger-side window to cause cars behind you to skid off the road, we obviously don’t actually endorse that sort of thing in reality.

“But if you pick up a mushroom and decide to drive straight over a mini-roundabout without slowing down, that’s entirely up to you.”

Simon went on to stress that a brick in a sock doesn’t count as a Blue Shell for purposes of scoring the game.

Insurance companies have already said that playing Mario Kart Go! invalidates all existing policies.